Little Zoo Series: Bad Grades
by Larkspur4Kat
Summary: A series bye me and Ponytail30527...When Marshal gets bad grades in school can skipper handle it or will he need help from Marlene...one-shot k


**A/N this is one in a series of stories that me and Ponytail30527 worked out together expect more where this came from!**

"Get up Marshal!" Athena yelled "we're all ready for school! Just get up!"

"Leave me alone already Athena! You can't get me up and neither can any one else" Marshal said in a smart-alecky tone.

"But I do know some one who can get you up" Athena said knowing that she'd already won. "UNCLE SKIP…"Athena started to yell but was cut of by Marshal's flipper covering her mouth.

"Of all the cruel sick operations that I have seen that is the worst yet" Marshal growled at her. Athena pushed his flipper off of her beak and smirked at him.

"Well at least you finally got up. School starts in ten minuets, you better hurry." Marshal's eyes got wide and he ran around the room trying to find his unfinished homework. As Athena walked out she looked back.

"I hope you did your homework for once. Progress reports go out tomorrow." she sneered.

"Fantastic" Marshal said under his breath as he grabbed a few things and ran out the door.

At school Marshal took his normal seat between Peanut and Eggy. Marshal was trying his best to understand the pre-algebra that was being shoved in to his mind

Marshal stared not taking his eyes away from the board in the front of the small room that they all called their classroom. Mason was teaching while Phil sat at the back of the class grading papers.

"Now let's all pass last night's homework in." everyone in the classroom shuffled around trying to get their papers out, everyone except Marshal. He sunk in his chair while everyone else and handed their papers in. He knew he need to do his homework but training with his friends was so much more fun.

"Okay to day we're going to learn how to find the area of a right triangle" Mason continued. Marshal tried his best to pay attention even though he knew it wouldn't save him from the nightmare coming.

After school Peanut walked home he climbed up and over the fence that surrounded his home.

Mooooom!!! I'M Hooooome! Peanut yelled

"Okaaaay, I heeeeaaar yoouuuuuuuu!" Marlene yelled back. She walked out of her cave, gave Peanut a small hug and asked him how school was.

"It was okay I guess but I wouldn't want to be Marshal right now." he told her as the both walked back inside.

"And why is that?" Marlene asked him as she walked over to the sink to start dishes.

"Because he didn't do his homework today again and he is failing the class. Mr. Skipper is going to redefine the word "angry" I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't at school tomorrow." Peanut replied idly going trough his homework for the day.

"Peanut!"

"What?"

"What have I told you about saying things like that!?" Marlene scolded

"Um"

All of a sudden they both heard a loud, angry yell…

"That would be Mr. Skipper" Peanut said smiling. Marlene glared at him before rushing out of her habitat. Marlene ran hard. She knew Skipper to get a little angry at times but not to where he would yell like that. She jumped over the fence surrounding the penguins' habitat and jumped down in to the water. Once she reached the fish bowl entrance she stopped. She heard a loud muffled voice. As much as she wanted to burst through and fix everything she couldn't. So she carefully slipped open the fish bowl entrance so she could hear Skipper's loud yelling…

"Marshal, this is completely unacceptable! When I was your age, this would've meant the four mile jog! Buttons did better than you! I didn't expect you to get straight A's, but a D is not what you should be getting!" Skipper roared at his son.

"Skipper!!" Marlene yelled as she jumped down the ladder having heard enough. Her face was serious and almost as red a skipper's. Marshal backed away so shaken by being yelled at by he dad.

"You don't get it! Yelling is not going to help! Look at him! Don't you see how scared he is!? Skipper looked both offended by this and mad.

"Marlene! He Failed! That is a reason to be punished. Can't you see!? After this he's not going to forget his homework ever again." Marshal was backed up against the wall. Tears were streaming down his face. Now he wanted nothing more than to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.

"Maybe!" Marlene yelled "But don't you want him to remember your encouragement instead of your screaming! I can't believe this! Buttons has better grades because his father encourages him and doesn't yell at him for every mistake he makes.

Skipper looked dumbfounded utterly and totally defeated.

"But..." Skipper couldn't words to finish. For the first time since he started yelling at Marshal he looked over to his son. He was sitting against the wall with his flippers wrapped around his knees and his head down. Skipper felt guilty. He walked toward Marshal who looked up at the noise of feet moving and quickly scampered up the ladder and out of the room.

Skipper looked over to Marlene who looked back at him…angrily. She turned around and left to find Marshal.

Marlene already knew where he was so she walked over to the big oak tree. Marshal didn't notice her at first but when he did he wasn't sure if he should run away or run to her, so he stayed still.

"Marshal?" Marlene asked though she knew it was him. Marshal turned away.

"Come on what reason do you have to be angry with me?" Marlene pleaded.

"It was my fault" Marshal said with his head buried in his flippers.

Marlene walked over and sat beside him "oh come on it wasn't your fault. me and Skipper always have our disagreements."

"But not like that" Marshal pointed out looking up at her.

"Ok I admit that was a little…much. But that doesn't mean it was your fault." Marlene said warmly just like a mother would.

"If I never would have gotten bad grades then dad never would have yelled at me." Marshal said looking at her intently.

"True but skipper shouldn't have gotten mad like that. Let's face it your dad can over react sometimes." Marlene said smiling. Marshal smiled back at the truth of what she said. Marlene leaned over and gave marshal a hug. Even though Marshal saw it coming he still liked the way Marlene hugged him. It made him wonder it this was what having a mom felt like. Marshal quickly shook the thought out of his mind and hugged Marlene back.

"Now let's go home" Marlene said after she let Marshal go.

Marshal frowned "that depends, your home or mine?"

"Yours" she said taking his flipper

"But I don't want to go home" Marshal said sharply, pulling his flipper away at the same time

"Well if you don't want to then you don't have to but just know that as soon as you left him he looked pretty sad." Marlene persuaded.

"Good. He deserves it" Marshal said stubbornly turning so that his back faced Marlene and closing his eyes.

"Are you sure? If Peanut got mad at me like that I would be miserable. It would make me feel like I was a horrible person.

"Well…when you put it that way I guess I'll go." Marshal said cautiously.

So they walked paw in flipper all the way back to the penguin exhibit. As soon as Marshal set foot on the platform in the middle of his home he realized that this was easier said than done. Marlene let go of his flipper and urged him on. Marshal reluctantly walked up to the fish bowl entrance and then looked back at Marlene who was standing a couple of feet away. Once Marshal entered the H.Q. Marlene waited thirty seconds and didn't hear any yelling. _That's a good sign _she thought to herself and with that she walked back to her own habitat to fix dinner for Peanut.

The next day, Thursday, Marlene decided to see how skipper and Marshal were doing. She opened to fish door hatch and saw Marshal, Elli, Buttons, and Athena as sitting together at the concrete table doing their homework

**A/N**

**This is, like I said one in a series that me and Ponytail30527 worked out together I don't see anything more to say except that Ponytail30527 already posted a story in this series call Recognitions check it out!**


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